a diamond is forever
by Caliente
Summary: [EDITED 05/2009] one-shot vignette set after X-Force v1, then skips ahead to after House of M –– Sometimes things meant to last a lifetime don't but memories always do. –– background Dani/Justin Pierce; FanFic100 #48: Diamond


**Author's Note: **Yes, the title is an ad for De Beers. I know. I'm sorry. It's meant to be ironic with the tone of the story and… yeah. I got nothin'. Okay, anyway. This is for the FanFic100 prompt #48: Diamond. "Then" is set sometime around X-Men Unlimited v1 #43 and "Now" is meant to be sometime after New X-Men v2 #20 and before the "Divided We Stand" stuff. It's a tad continuity heavy referring to the Reignfire arc in X-Force, Claremont's Hellfire stuff in Uncanny X-Men with Sage and Sunspot, and bringing in Justin Pierce from New Mutants v2/New X-Men: Academy X but it should still be mostly straightforward. Also, thanks to my lovely beta without whom I would most likely be lost. Cheers!  
**Note2: **Edited 05/10/09. Changed tense from past to present and messed around a bit with punctuation/word choice/etc. Not too much else of note, story is essentially the same.  
**Disclaimer: **Characters mentioned are used without permission and are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. I do not own them and am simply borrowing for my purposes. Please don't sue.

**a diamond is forever**  
by, Caliente

_Then_

She doesn't want to stare. She knows it's rude but this gift—it's just so _beautiful_. And she's never had beautiful things, not like _this_. Not as gifts. "Wow," she breathes finally. "I-I don't know what to say." With visible effort, she finally rips her eyes away from the small box sitting between them. "Thank you. I can't…" There are tears pricking at the corners of her eyes but she ignores them, instead reaching across the table to squeeze his hand gently. "You don't know what this means to me."

His smile is one she knows all too well. It's a sort of condescending love that irritates the hell out of her. But, though she'll never admit it (not to him, anyway—he's the last person who'd need an ego boost), she loves the way it's so completely _him_. "Of course I do," he replies in a tone that matches his smile perfectly. She rolls her eyes pointedly and it widens a fraction more. "Why else would I have gotten it for you?"

Shaking her head, she hides her smile behind her napkin. "Just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?" she teases. He smirks and she laughs. It takes anther moment for her to sober but, when she does, she's quick to shake her head. "But, Bobby, you know that I can't accept this—"

He hold up his hand before she can finish, shaking his own head emphatically. "No, no, no. None of that, Dani. You have always been special to me." She raises an eyebrow sharply and he lets out a deep belly laugh. "Okay, so maybe the beginning was not so special," he concedes. The other eyebrow raises to meet the first. "And perhaps bits of the middle were rough, as well." Another smile is hidden behind her napkin as he casually waves off her skepticism. "But, you see, it's all turned out okay in the end."

"Point," she agrees, not unkindly. "And, though I hate to bloat that already big head of yours any further, I have to admit you're rather special to me, too." Her expression grows serious again as she gently pushes the box back toward him. "Still, Bobby, it's too much. _Way_ too much." She smirks a little. "And what would the others think, hmm?"

Raising his wine glass, he takes a slow, savoring sip of what is undoubtedly the most expensive merlot on the menu. "Since when do you care what they think, Miss Moonstar?" It's then that she decides he really does know her far too well and the superior look on his face says he well aware of that fact, too. "See, got you again."

She smirks tolerantly, heroically resisting the temptation to swat at him. This restaurant is far too bourgeoisie for that sort of thing. "Okay, so maybe I don't care what they think, but _I_ don't even know what to think! It's such an extravagant gift, Bobby. And out of the blue like this…" He's looking at her strangely and suddenly she's overcome with a sinking feeling that she's just committed some sort of elitist faux pas. "What? Is there food on my face?" She starts lifting her knife to check before he can answer but he stops her.

"You really don't know do you?" he asks in surprise. "Dani—Danielle… this is my way of _thanking_ you."

Of all the possible reasons for a gift such as this one, that is not one she expected. Suddenly she's the one with the rug taken out from under her. She blinks at him for a moment as she tries to swallow what he's just said and formulate an adequate response. "Thanking me?" she repeats slowly, eyebrows furrowed. "For what?"

He stares at her in a candid manner that, if possible, catches her even more off guard. "For Reignfire," he answers in a soft tone, belaying both the seriousness and clandestine nature of the matter. "For giving up everything to save me. I didn't understand then;" her mouth is dry and eyes wide as he covers her hand with his own, "I was selfish." There's something pained in his manner as he adds, "And poor." Quickly, he returns the mask he keeps so firmly on his face and flashes a charming smile her direction. "But now—now I can begin to repay you."

Shaking her head at him for what feels like the millionth time during their meal, she tries to find the words. "Bobby, I didn't—you don't owe me _anything_. You're my friend. S.H.I.E.L.D. needed an operative. There was never any question." She smiles faintly at him, ignoring the stab of pain she still feels in her gut over the whole thing. "Besides," she shrugs off the invisible weight, "you would've done the same for me had our situations been reversed."

"But they weren't," he insists, giving her hand a warm squeeze. "And everything it cost you…" She looks away, then, concealing the wetness in her eyes to the best of her ability but he presses on. "Dani, you hide it well but if you think we never saw the truth—how it hurt you…"

She holds up a hand to stop him, still refusing to meet his gaze. Not until she's as composed as he is. "I didn't want you to see," she says in a low tone, raising her shining but determined gaze to meet his. "It was my penance to pay—mine _alone_." And even her best efforts to do just that still weren't enough to save her poor Darkwind. "I don't deserve any gifts for what I did." Hell, she'll probably never see Valhalla again because of it.

His face is serious once more as he fixes her with his own stubborn look. "So this is where we disagree. Because of you, I—"

"You nothing," she bursts out, remembering just in time to keep her tone low. "You have no idea—"

"Because you won't let me," he interrupts, mouth drawn tightly. "You won't let anyone—"

"—what you're talking about, anyway. It wasn't a heroic endeavor. None of it even—"

"—get close, you're so stubborn all the time! Honestly, can't you see I am only—"

"—mattered in the end."

"—trying to care for you?"

Visibly uncomfortable, she bristles. "For that?" she bites out. "Nothing I did with _him_—with any of the M.L.F.—was worth _anything_. And he—he brought us nothing but hurt and pain."

That same strange expression returns but this time she knows it's got nothing to do with spinach in her teeth. "You're wrong, Dani. He brought us _you_. And for that, I shall always be thankful." She's still feeling unsettled when he nods to her. "Enough. We will discuss it no more." He pulls a face that's all overly dramatic disdain (and reminds her, oddly enough, of Jean-Paul Beaubier). "Agree to disagree."

There are the first signs of a smile at the edges of her mouth. "How big of you, Bobby," she coos mockingly. Her expression grows milder as an honest (if small) smile falls into place. "Thanks."

"It is nothing." He waves her off, the picture of gallant. "But you will keep the necklace." She opens her mouth to continue protesting but he placed two fingers over her lips, effectively stopping her. "No more arguing, Moonstar. I know it's difficult for you as it goes against your very nature but humor me." She rolls her eyes but gestures for him to say his peace. He grins. "Let me thank you. For _my_ peace of mind, if nothing else." He tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, then leans back in his chair. "Besides, the diamond suits you."

Ignoring the way he's looking at her, she opens the box again instead. Inside, a teardrop shaped diamond on a thin platinum chain stares back at her. "Oh yeah," she agrees sarcastically, eyes still trained on the gift. "Emma's got nothin' on this."

Laughing heartily, picks up his glass of merlot and toasts her. "Truer words, Miss Moonstar."

Despite the temptation to throw her dinner roll at his head, she controls herself. This isn't Harry's, after all, and she doesn't feel like washing dishes or anything else horribly cliché. So, she lets out her own laugh instead and lets it be. Her eyes fall to the necklace again, just for an instant, before she snaps the box shut. Their discussion was over. On that particular topic, anyway. Then she steals away his wine glass and takes a demure sip of the wine, eyes dancing as she dares him to object. And just like that, they're them again and the status quo returns.

* * *

_Now_

Her fingers gently trace the delicate chain as she smiles softly. Reaching behind her neck, she's trying to clasp it when she a pair of warm hands cover her own to take the ends from her. Her smile broadens as the clasp is set and the necklace falls against her neck. Adjusting the diamond so it falls comfortably (and flatteringly) above her dress, she looks up from her own reflection to the one looming over her. "Thank you, Justin."

"Welcome." He's smiling as he leans down to give her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "You know," he continues, eyeing her necklace with interest, "I don't recall seeing you wear that before." He raises his eyebrows with mock-suspicion. "Should I be concerned, Miss Moonstar? Are the other men in your life giving you diamonds? How am I going to compete on a measly FBI salary?"

Rolling her eyes, Dani tilts her head toward his. "Oh, yes, Agent Pierce," she confides in a stage whisper. "All the men I know are just tripping over each other as they race to give me diamond jewelry."

Though his eyes are trained on her neck and she recognizes the lust in his expression, he holds off long enough to toss out a response. "Well, if they're not, they should be. They don't know what they're missing." Then he commences an attack on her neck.

The room is full of playfulness and laughter until Dani catches sight of the clock out of the corner of her eye. "We're going to be late," she tells him, gently extracting herself from him. "And I'd rather not have to change into something with a high neckline. It is August in upstate New York, you know."

"Spoilsport," he teases with a smirk, giving her one last lingering kiss on the lips. Smiling chivalrously, he helps her up. Dani stands tall in a dress that's just stylish enough to match his best suit. She barely remembers to grab her shawl from the back of the chair before Justin has them out the door. "By the way," he comments as they slide into his car, "why haven't I seen you wear that necklace before? It really suits you."

Absentmindedly touching the teardrop diamond gently, her expression is bittersweet. "It's from another lifetime," she answers, eyes a million miles away. "It was thank you from an old friend." Bringing her mind back to the now, she smiles at Justin and pats his knee comfortingly. "It's not new; I just wasn't ready to wear it before." His expression remains perplexed but drops it all the same. He knows she'll talk about it when she's ready and not a millisecond before.

Behind their car, a newspaper is caught in the breeze and flutters behind them. It lands open to page six, a picture of Roberto Da Costa staring up at the night sky. Standing beside him are Sebastian Shaw, Courtney Ross and several other highly influential members of society associated with the Hellfire Club.

Back inside the car, Dani gently touches the teardrop diamond one final time before letting it drop. She gazes out the window, sadness in her eyes as thinks of her wayward friend. But, although they've now set out on different paths (and maybe they've lost their ways a bit, too), the memory of the gift and what it means remains strong. It's that memory that she's decided to honor. She just hopes the friend she remembers is still inside the man he's become.


End file.
